Veterinarians and other related animal health professionals are continually searching for more expeditious and less intrusive means of euthanatizing animals, especially companion animals such as dogs and cats. The goal is to “put down” the animal as quickly and as painlessly as possible. There is nothing more emotionally unsettling to a caring practitioner or animal owner than watching his or her charge suffer a drawn out and painful induced death.
Many compositions have now been formulated to both euthanatize an animal and anesthetize it during the process as well. For example, compositions containing pentobarbital alone and in combination with lidocaine have been described.1 In addition, a secobarbital/dibucaine combination has also been researched, but with mixed results.2 Sodium pentobarbital is typically the more preferred drug of choice over secobarbital, as it is generally recognized as potent, long-acting, stable in solution, and relatively inexpensive.
Unfortunately, problems exist with many of the formulations available today. Some are too slow acting to be considered truly viable, thereby delaying death and producing needless suffering for the animal. Others are difficult to syringe, while still others are painful to the animal upon administration. Still others may cause gasping and gurgling and other unwarranted symptoms. While not painful to the animal, these may be aesthetically and emotionally difficult for veterinary practitioners and pet owners to observe.
Thus, there exists a need in the art for a new euthanasia formulation which is highly effective for all types of animals, and especially companion animals. There is also a need for a new method of euthanatizing an animal which is more humane than those presently utilized in the art.